


Shine Bright Like A

by protectchatnoir



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, But after some time in the Institution she becomes more like canon Lapis, Gen, How Do I Tag, I might change the rating to mature, It's a kinda normal strict boarding school but there's secret scary stuff going on behind the scenes, It's kinda messed up lmao, It's like a reform school/prison/institution place idk how to explain that dude, Kinda, Mentions of Death, Reform School, Smoking, So at first she's kinda... softer, You get the idea, but we'll see, her character develops in this kinda like it does in the show, the tags will probably update as i add more, this fic is nightmarish lmao, this is lapis centric and at first she is kinda out of character i guess??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-18 10:04:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15483336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protectchatnoir/pseuds/protectchatnoir
Summary: "My, my, running away does appear to be a recurring theme. Here at the Diamond Institution, we have precautions to prevent such drastic measures."It's a trap."It will certainly take a little adjustment on your part, Miss Lazuli, but I believe you'll fit right in before you know it."Definitely a trap.





	Shine Bright Like A

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this has been sitting in my drafts for almost a month after i wrote it literally all in one go a few months ago. i've been putting it off but i figured i should probably just post it yknow 
> 
> like idk how happy i am with this but whatever i hope you like it anyhow!! 
> 
> (this fic is kinda dark as you can probably tell by the tags. if i missed any tags by mistake please let me know!! the rating might go up but idk yet)

_She was Lapis now. Lapis Lazuli. Her old name didn't matter. She probably wouldn't be hearing it again._

 

Lapis closed her eyes and sighed. There _had_ to be some kind of mistake. This place wasn't a _home._ It was more reminiscent of some kind of Victorian orphanage. The red brick stood out sorely against the dust grey sky behind the building; heavy iron gates separated her from the courtyard before her. Their black paint was peeling and the rust showing through, and ugly, jagged spikes jutted from the top of them. She shuddered. 

"Are those gates to keep people out or in?" Lapis muttered.

 

"Now, Miss Lazuli, an attitude like that won't get you far in the Diamond Institution," Holly Blue Agate stated, sounding way too positive for somebody who worked in a dump like this. But her smile was a little too forced, her eyes a little too bright. There seemed to be a harsh coldness beneath the Agate's kind facade.

Holly took a key from her belt and opened the gates, leading the way inside. "Come, now. We wouldn't want to be late for your induction with Blue Diamond!"

 

"We certainly wouldn't." As the gates swung shut behind them and Holly Blue locked them up again, Lapis wondered when she'd step beyond the gates again. If she ever did. Knowing her luck, she'd be stuck her for the rest of her miserable life. Goodbye, freedom.

 

Hello, Diamond Institution.  

 

The courtyard in front of the building was entirely unattractive. Any grass or flowers or signs of life had been concealed by a solid grey concrete. In the centre stood what could have once been a water feature; now it was just a crumbling angel standing in an empty stone bowl. This place truly was devoid of hope. 

Lapis was led into the building and up some stairs, down a couple of narrow corridors and up another flight of stairs. 

 

"Welcome to the Blue Ward! This is where you will spend the majority of your time here at the Institution. You shouldn't ever feel the need to leave this section of the building. Unless you're relocated, of course, but that only happens when - _if_  - it is entirely necessary. If someone is considered to be a... _danger_ to their wardmates, for instance." Holly laughed, though the sound was devoid of humour. "Although, I can assure you that you will feel perfectly at home here, so there's no need to - well, you know. I'm sure you and the other girls in the Blue Ward will get along wonderfully."

 

"I'm sure we will." Lapis frowned down the dimly lit corridor. Doors dotted the unplastered brick walls at regular intervals; a metal plaque with letters and numbers adorned each door. It was... somewhere between a run down hotel and a prison.

 

"You will be staying in room BW04 with Amethyst. Here it is! You can meet your roommate after we speak with Blue Diamond. For now, you can just leave your trunk next to the door; I'll send a Pearl up to unpack your things."

 

Blue this, blue that - it was odd. It would at least make sense if the Blue Ward's walls had blue paint or _something._ But no, it was the same oppressive red brick as the rest of the building. And all the gem names? Lapis knew by now that, upon entering the Diamond Institution, each girl was assigned with a new name. But it seemed odd; the people who ran the Institution were known as the Diamonds, which was simple enough. Each ward had an Agate or two overseeing all activities. What were Pearls, though? Some kind of... maid? It all seemed a little ridiculous to her.

 

Holly Blue's harsh voice cut through her thoughts.

"Ah, would you look at that! Four o'clock. We'd better head down to Blue Diamond's palanquin." 

 

With a confused frown, Lapis set down her heavy case and allowed the Blue Ward's Agate to lead her down some more corridors and up some more stairs. Pala-what? It was probably just fancy talk for some kind of office, right? 

 

Well, she wasn't wrong; it was like an office. Said office was located a surprisingly long way from her newly assigned room. It seemed the Diamond Institution was larger and even more intimidating than it had first appeared. 

If that was even possible. 

Blue Diamond's office itself - or 'palanquin', as Holly had called it, though it _seemed_ like a regular office - was luxurious compared to everything Lapis had seen so far. It was a relatively small room which consisted of blue carpet and wallpaper, along with paintings hanging on the walls. In the centre was a desk - and sitting behind it, a tall, elegant woman who Lapis assumed was Blue Diamond. 

 

"You must be Lapis Lazuli," she said calmly, her voice low and soft. She indicated to the chair in front of the desk. "Please, my dear, do take a seat. Thank you, Holly Blue Agate, for escorting Miss Lazuli to my office. That will be all." 

 

Holly nodded respectfully and took her leave. 

 

"Good afternoon, Miss Lazuli. I am Blue Diamond, head of your ward. It's an honour to finally meet you. You have _quite_ the record." Blue Diamond flipped through a paper file in front of her. "Expelled from your previous school for _vandalism_ , involving setting fire to the gym and various cases of damage to school property. Ran away from home; ran away from the consequential boarding school you were sent to. My, my, running away does appear to be a recurring theme. Here at the Diamond Institution, we have precautions to prevent such drastic measures." 

 

_It's a trap._

 

"It will certainly take a little adjustment on your part, Miss Lazuli, but I believe you'll fit right in before you know it." 

 

_Definitely a trap._

 

Blue Diamond smiled and reached for a tray of tea on one end of the desk. Lifting the teapot, she turned back to Lapis. "Would you like a cup of tea, my dear?" 

 

"Uh, sure."

 

"Wonderful. Wonderful," Blue murmured and filled two china teacups, handing one of them to Lapis.

 

"Thanks," Lapis muttered. She sipped the tea, eyeing Blue cautiously. The woman had an elegant and yet cold, intimidating look to her. Though she seemed friendly and welcoming, the entire scene screamed 'facade'. There was no way Blue Diamond cared for Lapis Lazuli's wellbeing. _There was no way it wasn't a trap._

 

"Some of the stunts you pulled in the past are seriously concerning, Lapis. I hope you understand that this institution is going to change you - for the better, of course. Here, we teach girls like you how to behave properly. Lapis, the Diamond Institution is your home now. Make the right choices, and you may find yourself stepping out of those gates in several years. Make a bad impression and your time here will be a _living hell._  Here is your schedule; your lessons begin next week. Schooling hours are six until five Mondays through Fridays. Breakfast is at five AM on weekdays, half past six on weekends. Dinner is at seven PM. I trust you can find your way back to your room? Excellent. Good afternoon. That will be all." The woman clapped her hands twice.

 

_Trap._

Lapis nodded silently and stood up. She left the room and, by some miracle, managed to find her way back to her dorm. Wow. Blue Diamond sure was... intense.

Lapis' trunk was no longer outside the room, and upon entering she found that all of her things had been unpacked and filed away. 

 

Room BW04 was... uninspiring, for lack of better word; the walls were plastered and painted white, which made a nice change from the usual red brick. And although the room was small, it was less like a prison cell than Lapis had expected it to be. That said, it still more closely resembled a cell than a bedroom. 

There were identical two beds, the only difference being that one of them was perfectly made up, and other's white duvet lay crumpled on the floor along with a pillow. 

She assumed that was her roommate's bed. The roommate herself wasn't to be seen though. She was probably still in lessons, seeing as it was before six on a Friday.

 

In the corner of the room was a long desk with two chairs. To the side of the desk was a small window. It looked out on the concrete courtyard, and was framed with metal bars on the outside. The handle was screwed down, leaving the window impossible to open. 

 

_Safety precautions._

 

Next to each of the beds there was a plain white chest of drawers. Lapis opened the top drawer to find all of her clothes. In the second, there was some kind of school uniform with a blazer and tie. And in the bottom drawer were the rest of her belongings. A few books, her hair brush, along with her notebook and pens. _No cell phone,_  she noted. Ah, well. It wasn't as if she'd been expecting to be allowed to keep it.

 

As she was shutting the drawer, Lapis heard the room's door swing open. She spun round to see who had entered. The girl in the doorway looked somewhat bored and unimpressed. She was shorter than Lapis, but looked like she could probably kick her butt; Lapis made a mental note to get on this girl's good side. 

 

"Oh," said the girl. "You must be the new roomie. Welcome to hell."

 

"Uh, thanks?" 

 

"I'm Amethyst. You're Lapis, right?" 

 

Lapis nodded.

 

"Cool. What'd you do to land yourself in this dump?' 

Amethyst unceremoniously removed her school uniform and dug around in her chest of drawers for some clothes. In an attempt to respect her new roomate's privacy (though Amethyst didn't seem to mind), Lapis glanced away. She shrugged.

 

"Well, I set fire to my school's gym," she began. "I didn't mean to. And I trashed some stuff. That was an accident, though. And my parents sent me to boarding school, but I ran away. And then I was back home for a while. But then I ran away from home. That was... less of an accident." 

 

"Nice." Amethyst jumped onto the desk and sat down. She wore a pair of ripped jeans and an off shoulder t-shirt. "I stabbed someone with a pencil. Well, first I stole somebody's yacht, but I think the pencil thing was the final straw."

With a quiet laugh, Amethyst opened the desk drawer beneath her and pulled out a box of cigarettes along with a lighter. She lit one and tossed the box to Lapis. "You smoke?" 

 

Lapis crossed the room and sat on the desk next to Amethyst. "No. And you shouldn't either." She pointed to the bold text on the box. "Can't you read? 'Smoking kills'."

 

"Girl, I don't care. What does it matter? I ain't _never_ getting outta this dump. I'mma die here." 

 

"Well, you're only killing yourself faster." She handed the box back and sighed. "What do you _do_ in this place? I mean, I guess we're not allowed outside - and most of the days are just lessons. But, like, what about in your free time?"

 

Amethyst shrugged. "Nothing much. You do homework, read a book - I've been in here for two years and I ain't going anywhere. You're the first roommate I've had since Ruby. Not gonna lie, I'm glad you're here. It's so  _boring_ without a roommate." 

 

"Wh- what happened to Ruby?" Lapis asked.

 

"Oh, well, we're not really supposed to smoke in here. Y'know, lighters and matches are banned. But we wanted to make a bonfire and - yeah, she basically melted the carpet. Like, it was probably more my fault to be honest, but she's the one who got moved across the hall." 

 

"She's still in the Blue Ward?" 

 

Amethyst nodded. "Uh huh. She's next to Sapphire. We're lucky, y'know. Most people have a room to themselves. Jasper and Peridot share a dorm, but they can hardly stand each other. It's kinda funny, really. But other than that, we're pretty much the only pair in Blue Ward. That's lucky."

 

"I guess. I'm not exactly a people person though. I do better on my own," Lapis muttered. 

 

"Not in the Diamond Institution, you don't. Dude, you could be in here for years. The rest of your _life._  You need _allies."_

 ...What if Amethyst was right? Lapis was no stranger to shutting people out, but if she was here for more than a few weeks - and she suspected she would be - there was no way she'd get by on her own without going insane. Maybe if she got the other kids in her ward to like her, her time spent at the Diamond Institution would be a little more bearable. Plus, if she did want to get out of this place, she would have to stand up and fight for her freedom.

With a smile, Lapis got up. "You know what? You're right. I _do_  need allies. This is a war, and I am going to win it. Can't do that on my own, right? I may seriously dislike people, in general - but hey, we're all stuck here together. Time to go make some friends!" 

 

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait!" Amethyst exclaimed as Lapis marched to the door. She put out her cigarette on the desk and jumped to her feet. "You can't just go out there! The Diamonds are _crazy,_  dude. They'll _flip_ if they find out you left your room. Seriously, like, you're not allowed out except for lessons and mealtimes."

 

Lapis opened the door and moved into the murky corridor. "Why are the lights so dim? I can hardly see _anything."_

 

 _"That's because we aren't supposed to be in the corridors!"_ Amethyst hissed from her position in the doorway. She hung back anxiously, seeming afraid to leave the room. "I'm all for a little bit of rebellion, girl, but this is just plain stupid. Lapis, c'mon, you shouldn't-"

 

_"Shh."_

 

"What?" 

 

Lapis tilted her head to the side and stood quietly for a moment. It sounded like someone was... _singing?_

"Do you hear that? Someone singing? Do you hear it?"

 

"Sure. That's just Sapphire. And in a minute, Jasper will yell at her. It happens pretty much every evening." Amethyst stuck her head a little further out of the door and frowned. "You should come inside now."

 

Ignoring her new roommate, Lapis moved a little way down the dimly lit hallway, trying to find the source of the singing. She paused outside of room BW07. It seemed to be coming from behind that door. Suddenly an angry yell came from the room next to that, BW09. It sounded like the person in BW09 was hammering on the wall in between the two rooms.

 

"Stop _singing!"_  someone shouted. The gentle singing from behind the door of BW07 stopped - but after a moment of silence, the song started up again. Quieter this time, but strong. It felt like a little patch of sunlight making its way through thick clouds, or a plant forcing its way upwards in a field of weeds. 

Lapis tapped lightly on the door. "I like your song," she whispered. 

 

The singing stopped.

 

And a moment later, the door opened a crack. She caught a glimpse of the girl behind the door. "Are you Sapphire?" she asked, keeping her voice low. For a minute there was no reply, but then the door opened just a little wider, and the girl nodded. 

"Yes," she said quietly. "You shouldn't be here."

 

"I just wanna be friends. My name's Lapis."

 

"I know. You're going to get caught." 

 

The door started to close, but Lapis grabbed the handle and pushed it open again. "Wait! What do you mean? I'm out of my room. Oh, wow, big deal! What are they gonna do about it? If they want us to stay inside so bad, why don't they just lock the doors?"

 

"It _is_ a big deal. You will get in serious trouble. Please don't drag me down with you." Sapphire shut the door. A moment later, her soft singing started up again. Lapis sighed and rested her head against the wall. This was hopeless. Clearly Sapphire didn't want to be her friend. 

 

"She's right, you know."

 

Lapis glanced up. The door to BW05 - the room opposite hers - was open a little way, and a girl stood nervously in the doorway opposite Amethyst, who was also still standing in the entrance to here room.

"Hey, Ruby," Amethyst said.

_Oh, so this must be Amethyst's ex roommate._

"Amethsyt, _keep your friend under control!_ She's totally gonna get us all in trouble!" 

 

Suddenly Sapphire's singing stopped and her door was opening again. "Ruby, please go back inside. If the new girl wants to get herself in trouble with Blue Diamond, we must not stand in her way." 

 

 _"Sapphire!"_  Ruby hissed. "How can you say that?! It's not just her who's gonna get punished! You know as well as I do that Blue Diamond is going to-"

 

"What?" Lapis interjected. "What is she going to do?"

 

"Well, I would have _told you_ if you hadn't _interrupted me!"_  

 

Lapis sighed; Ruby was right. Heck, she hadn't even _met_  the girl and they were already on bad terms. This was going badly. 

 

"Right. Sorry. Please, continue." 

 

"I- she's going to- we- you're- _ugh!"_  Ruby groaned. "I've lost my _flow_ now. Whatever. The point is: hey, you. You're new here. You don't get the rules yet - that's understandable. But we aren't allowed out of our rooms, and if you get caught in the corridors, we're all going to get in trouble. All of us. The whole of Blue Ward!" 

 

"What Ruby is trying to say is that you should probably go inside now," Sapphire added helpfully before retreating back into her own room.

 

"I'm sorry, Ruby," Lapis said quietly. "I never wanted to get anyone in trouble, I swear. I just wanted to make some friends. I'm Lapis, by the way."

Ruby shrugged. "Whatever. Just - don't leave your room again, okay? It's Ruby. But you probably got that already. I'm... sorry we had to meet like this. See you at breakfast?"

"Right. Seven AM."

"Six thirty," Ruby corrected with a laugh and disappeared into her room, closing the door behind her.

Back in the doorway of room BW04, Amethyst shook her head. "Wow, well done. You befriended Ruby and Sapphire by pissing them off."

"It's a talent," Lapis replied with a smile.

Amethyst laughed. "Whatever you say, roomie. You coming in now or what?"

"I think I'll stay out here for a little while, actually."

"Lapis! Did you not witness the past ten minutes? And the whole 'if you leave your room we're all gonna get punished' thing?"

"Yeah, I know. I was there. It's just... I have so many questions. Why aren't we allowed outside? I mean, I know that this place is super strict and scary, but why aren't we allowed to leave our rooms? Isn't that weird? Don't you think that's - don't you find that weird? And what about the other girls in the Blue Ward? How many are there? And are there other wards? I guess there are, but who is-"

"Whoa, dude. I get that you have questions. I did too. But how's about we do the questions inside, huh? Great."

Lapis sighed but allowed herself to be dragged into their room.

"Okay. I'm sitting on your bed," Amethyst declared, sitting on Lapis' bed. "I might be able to help answer some of your questions.  
So... fire away, I guess. Uh - but one at a time, please."

"Fine. Why aren't we allowed outside?"

"I dunno, man. The Diamonds are _uptight._ Next question?"

"Uh, okay... how many girls are there in the Blue Ward?"

Amethyst shrugged. "I don't know. Like, I know everyone around us, but other than that it's just doors and names, y'know? There are a lot of people who I see every day at meals and lessons but haven't actually met properly."

"Oh, okay. And what about the other wards? There have to be other wards, right? I mean, it's a massive building and-"

"There are four wards. Blue Ward, Yellow Ward, Pink Ward and White Ward. And as the head of each ward we have Blue Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Pink Diamond and White Diamond. No one in Blue Ward has actually left the ward so we aren't certain, but we're fairly sure that Blue and Yellow are the only Diamonds running this place now. White Diamond was supposed to be the leader, I think? But no one knows who she even is. And there was a rumour that spending so much time in this goddamn building made Pink go insane and she ended up in one of the wards too, but who knows."

"Oh. That's..."

"Yeah."

"So... is there anyone in Pink Ward or White Ward?"

"Who knows? We just gotta accept that Blue Ward is our home now and we're probably never getting outta here."

Amethyst lay down on Lapis' bed and sighed. It was odd, but almost seemed as if Amethyst didn't mind being stuck in the hellhole. Although, Lapis remembered, her new roommate had already been in the Diamond Institution for over two years. Maybe, by now, Amethyst was just numb to the idea that her entire life would be spent in this cage.

Lapis moved over to the barred window and looked out. She frowned.  
"I can't accept that," Lapis muttered, quiet enough that Amethyst didn't hear. And yet loud enough for Lapis to believe it.

She had to believe that she was going to get out of this dump.

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is @carwashkid! :)


End file.
